Coastal Property Insurance on the Jersey Shore
There’s much to love about having a property on the coast. After all, who doesn’t like waking up, knowing that they can go for a walk along the beach? If you’re lucky enough to own such a property, then you’ll get to enjoy all the benefits of coastal living, which can be deeply enjoyable, especially in New Jersey. However, it’s important to remember that not every aspect of coastal property ownership is positive. There are some risks that you’ll need to be aware of when living next to the ocean.
Coastal living can be a double-edge sword. It’s fantastic for some things, but not so fantastic for others. While you can’t always control what happens in the coastal area where you live, you can control how well you’re able to respond to it. If you have coastal property insurance, then you can ensure that you don’t lose out financially because of natural disasters.
The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
Protecting one’s property against the dangers of the coast hasn’t always been on top of everyone’s to-do list. But there was one event that changed all that in New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy had a devastating effect on NJ and other parts of the east coast, with many people ending up with destroyed homes and enormous bills to get things back in shape.
Part of the issue that many people faced was that they thought that their standard home insurance would cover the damage that the storm caused. However, this wasn’t the case. Because they didn’t have coverage against floods and other weather related issues, many were left severely out of pocket. Some never recovered.
What Is Coastal Property Insurance?
It didn’t have to be that way, however. While standard home insurance is good for some things, it’s generally not very good with extreme weather. Coastal property insurance aims to bridge that gap. It’s there to help mitigate some issues that people who have properties in coastal areas face.
When you’re living on the coast, you’ll naturally face some issues that are specific to that region. For instance, since you’re close to so much water, there will be an additional risk of flooding in your home. You’ll still have regular home insurance, but with coastal property insurance, you’ll know that you’ll be protected if something like Hurricane Sandy happens again.
The policy will ensure that you don’t need to pay for damage to your home caused by storms and other weather incidents that you’ll only find on the coast.
How Does It Differ From Regular Home Insurance?
Everyone with a home likely has homeowners insurance. But not everyone has coastal property insurance. The simple reason for that is that not everyone lives on the coast! And regular home insurance usually won’t cover the damage that comes from living on the coast.
Insurers look at a bunch of factors when considering insuring a property, including the extent of the risk of damage. When you live on the coast, you’ll naturally face additional risks that someone who lived away from the coast would not face.
Some Useful Tips
As with many other types of insurance, there are things you can do to ensure that you get the policy that’s right for you. The number one way to help yourself is to make sure that you’re working with insurance agents who know what they’re talking about and who take the time to get to know your specific situation.
Get It Early
It’s important to know that coastal property insurance policies do not become active straight away. That’s how it works for all insurance, after all! This is one major reason why you should work on getting your property insured as early as possible. And of course, before the period of the year when hurricanes become more likely.
If there’s an active storm watch going on, most insurers will not issue new policies. So that means that you’ll just have to hope that your home isn’t damaged by that particular storm.
What’s Covered?
As with all policies, it’s important to read the policy carefully, so you know exactly what you’re protected against and what you’re not. For example, many coastal property insurance policies do not include flood coverage. That’s something that you’ll need to purchase besides your home insurance and your coastal property insurance.
The main thing is to be aware of the risks that your home faces and then take the steps to ensure that you have coverage against all those things. If there’s a gap in your coverage, then you could end up with a nasty bill one day.
A Problem You Cannot Ignore
It’s easy to overlook coastal property insurance. Some people don’t even think they need it, because they have other types of home insurance. However, this isn’t true. The other reason people shy away from getting this type of coverage is that they think nothing too serious will happen. But as we saw with Hurricane Sandy, that’s not the case. A brutal storm that causes billions of dollars worth of damage is possible.
It’s also important to remember that the frequency of these storms will only increase in the coming years thanks to the effects of climate change.
With extreme weather becoming more frequent, it’s more important than ever before that homeowners with properties on the coast take the time to make sure they’re fully protected.
Final Thoughts
As we’ve seen, there’s a lot of value in obtaining coastal property insurance, especially in an age when you’re not entirely sure what will happen next. If you’re ready to begin your journey towards greater peace of mind, get in touch with us here at Anderson Insurance Agency. We have a deep understanding of coastal property insurance and how to protect your property.